Final Score: Lipscomb: 71, Austin Peay: 76
Location: Nashville, TN. (Allen Arena)
Records:  Lipscomb: (18-10, 12-4 ASUN), Austin Peay (17-10, 12-5 ASUN)

THE SHORT STORY

Austin Peay edged Lipscomb women's basketball after a turnover-filled second half, handing the Bisons their fifth conference loss of the season. 

HOW IT HAPPENED 

Lipscomb opened the first quarter converting on their first three shot attempts, resulting in an early 7-4 lead. Aleah Sorrentino put in the first five for the Bisons, including a three-pointer just under a minute into the ball game. 

Bella Vinson stretched the squad's lead to six on a deep ball from the top of the key moments later. 

The Govs responded with four straight to cut their deficit to two with 3:24 left in the first quarter. Sorrentino continued to provide for Lipscomb with another strong finish inside and long midrange jumper, helping the Bisons end the quarter with a 21-14 point advantage. 

After two made free throws by the Govs, Blythe Pearson drained a jumper to keep the Bisons up two possessions. The squad stretched their lead to as much as eight in the quarter, but managed to Austin Peay keep themselves within striking distance.

Sorrentino closed her strong first half with an acrobatic fade-away jumper plus through contact, which pushed the Bisons' lead to six (37-31) at halftime.

Austin Peay outscored Lipscomb 17-16 in the second frame but Sorrentino led the way through the first two quarters for the Bisons with 13 points and five rebounds on 6-of-7 shooting. 

Lipscomb shot an extremely efficient 61.5% from the field in the first half while going 3-of-8 from deep. The Bisons also had a 37-31 edge on the boards. Austin Peay snagged seven offensive rebounds, which led to eight second-chance points, keeping them within striking distance.

The Bisons picked up right where they left off to start the second half, executing on the offensive end. Sorrentino found Vinson on a backdoor for a left-handed finish off the glass. 

Austin Peay began their second-half push by cutting the lead to five on a layup with 3:32 still to go in the third. Howver, Claira McGowan answered on the Bisons' ensuing possession, driving past her defense to score inside. After a 30-second timeout, the Govs scored six unanswered, trimming their deficit to one. 

Pearson halted the Govs' run with a logo three-pointer to give the Bisons a four-point edge, but Austin Peay put one in the equalizer to cut the lead back down to one to close the third quarter. 

The Govs continued to act the rim, scoring 14 of their 18 inside the painted area while also shooting 8-of-18 from the floor in the period. 

After taking the lead in the early portion of the final quarter, Austin Peay went on a 7-0 stretch starting at the 4:30 mark, giving them a 10 points lead with under two minutes remaining. The Bisons had some costly turnove which lead to nine points for the Govs. 

Lipscomb would get as close as five, but Austin Peay knocked down free throws down the stretch and edged the Bisons at Allen Arena 76-71. 

HERD NOTES

• Lipscomb coughed it up 16 times while the Govs only gave it up four times. 
• Lipscomb shot 28-of-52 (53.8%) from the floor against the Govs. 
• In the second half, Austin Peay outscored the Bisons 45-34 and shot 52.9 percent from the field. 
• Austin Peay scored 21 points off Bisons turnovers. 
• Pearson led the squad with 18 points and six rebounds.  

UP NEXT
The second matchup between these two squads will be on Saturday, Feb. 25, with tip-off scheduled for 3:00 p.m. CT.